MADISON -- In preparation for the 2020 cycle, the Democratic National Committee has announced a multi-million dollar investment in the recruitment and training of college-aged organizers in several key battleground states, including Wisconsin. Organizing Corps 2020 will recruit, pay and train young people to work in the 2020 presidential cycle, with particular focus on mentoring students from communities of color.

“The path to defeating Donald Trump runs through Wisconsin,” said Martha Laning, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “With the DNC’s support, we’ll not only build a strong ground game ready to support our eventual presidential nominee, we’ll also grow and train the next generation of Democratic leaders.

“Communities of color, particularly Milwaukee’s black community, have been underrepresented on Wisconsin political campaigns for too long. We’re excited by the opportunity to build these talent pipelines and make our campaigns reflect the diversity of our Democratic coalition.”

Thanks to a key early investment in its organizing program, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s 2018 field program was the largest the Party had ever built in a midterm cycle. The Party’s organizers built over 250 volunteer neighborhood teams across the state that knocked over 500,000 doors in the final four days before the election. In 2019, the Party anticipates tripling its voter outreach done in 2017.

The DNC’s Organizing Corps 2020 will also partner with state parties in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. In 2016, Donald Trump won MI, PA & WI by 78,000 votes while 975,000 nonwhite registered voters stayed home on election day.